Theme: Feathered Friends. Five people's names who sound like birds replace the birds themselves in the noun. Hilarity ensues.
17A. Ditty from 1970s-'80s NFL wide receiver Lynn? : SWANN SONG. Pittsburgh Steelers Hall-of-Famer.
25A. Unwinding places for actor Russell? : CROWE BARS. The blog "Waiter Rant" revealed that Mr. Crowe, when eating out, doesn't behave like a spoiled brat and tips well. Good to know.
38A. Tough spot for actor Walter? : PIDGEON HOLE. Apparently this is how an urban pigeon adapts to apartment living. Their country cousins may have more space.
49A. Easter adornment made by politician Dan? : QUAYLE EGG. Food! Three of these make a very small omelet.
61A. Facial feature of actor Ethan? : HAWKE EYES. Are they deep and dreamy? I have no idea.
Spot the odd one out in the theme entries - a swan has a song (in legend), a pigeon may perch in a hole, roughly 50% of the adult quail population has the capacity to lay eggs and a hawk certainly has eyes, apparently sharp ones. But a crow? I don't believe a crow has ever had bars. There's some other odd-ones-out too - CROWBAR is one word, the others are two, and QUAYLE needs a letter-change from the bird, the others don't. It feels inconsistent to me.
I confess to being a little underwhelmed with this one - you could play "Word Association" and get three or four of the names without thinking: Actor Russell? CROWE! Actor Ethan? HAWKE! Politico Dan? QUAYLE! You get the idea.
So let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Lead-ins to some online games : ADS. I don't play computer games, but I can't see the producers missing the opportunity to push some product before you get the chance to play.
4. Magnetic induction unit : TESLA. I didn't know this usage, but there's been enough of Nikola round recently that it wasn't a problem.
9. Nobelist Curie : MARIE. Husband Pierre also - he didn't fit. She beat him 2-1 in the Nobel Prize throwdown.
14. Petal plucker's word : NOT. Unloved, so sad.
15. Use at the table : EAT ON. Odd - I eat OFF plates and silverware, not on them.
16. Dunderhead : IDIOT
19. Replicate : CLONE
20. Fighting against : ANTI
21. Rarely seen item on casual Friday : TIE
22. Enjoy Whistler : SKI. Nice clue for this little word. Another mention of the artist at 58A.
23. Rule : REIGN
30. Sagittarius, e.g. : ARCHER
32. Sign of hope : RAY
33. See 8-Down : LEE.
34. Mass __ : TRANSIT. Had to wait for a few crosses before I could fill in this one.
37. Wander : ROVE
40. Computer menu heading : FILE
42. Hockey positions : WINGERS. Soccer too. Rugby also. Sports a-plenty.
43. Big club in Atlantic City? : ACE. Four suits to choose from. How about the Ace of Spades? [Rated BG13 (Blog Guidance) for Heavy Metal Content]
44. Neurologist's printout, briefly : E.E.G.
45. Find out about : DETECT
53. Gretzky, during most of the '80s : OILER. Edmonton hockey eh? The Great One.
54. Foreign __ : AID
55. __ Cruces : LAS. Wikipedia says this places is also known as "The City of The Crosses" which is kinda stating the obvious considering "Las Cruces" means "The Crosses".
57. Not : NARY
58. Emulate Whistler : PAINT. Here's his famous and pensive-looking mother. Maybe she's wondering when he's going to stop messing around with oils and look for a proper job.
63. Bike wheel feature : SPOKE
64. "Little Miss Sunshine" Oscar winner : ARKIN. Las Cruces got me most of the way here.
65. Rebellious Turner : NAT
66. Structural support : TRUSS
67. Kids around : JESTS
68. Some municipal trains : ELS
Down:
1. "Broken Arrow" co-star : ANSARA. No idea, so thank you, perps. The late actor Michael.
2. Wet blanket : DOWNER
3. Radio problem : STATIC. I wanted "Running low on Ne-Hi" first.
4. Notable Downing Street number : TEN. The British Prime Minister's residence. You used to be able to walk right up to the door and get your picture taken with the jolly policeman (unarmed, naturally) guarding the place. Times have changed.
5. "__ of Eden" : EAST. I came late to reading Steinbeck and this was my first. I couldn't believe how fresh it seemed.
6. Stiff-upper-lip type : STOIC
7. Hardly a social butterfly : LONER
8. With 33-Across, "Life of Pi" director : ANG. This name has finally sunk into my pea-brain. Nailed it!
9. Pluto's master : MICKEY
10. Improvise in a sketch : AD LIB
11. 2014 World Cup city : RIO. I timed my visit imperfectly last time down there - I arrived exactly a week after the final.
12. Charged particle : ION
13. Printemps follower : ÉTÉ. Summer follows Spring in France, just like here. I ate one of the most memorable meals of my life at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Raymond Blanc's Michelin-starred restaurant in .... England, oddly enough.
18. Lingerie purchase : NIGHTIE
22. Bundled up : SWATHED
24. Pi Day celebrant, stereotypically : NERD. March 14th.. It doesn't works in in the UK when you have the day before the month. This year was awesome - add the year and a specific time in the morning, and you got:
26. Circular gasket : O-RING. Infamously the culprit of the space shuttle Challenger explosion.
27. Soothing succulent : ALOE
28. Accelerate, with "up" : REV
29. Understand : SEE
31. Common allergen : RAGWEED. I tried RAGWORT first and needed a little unpicking in that area.
35. Mont Blanc covering : NEIGE. Not quite as much neige en été, plenty more en hiver. Thankfully Wiki refrains from informing us that "this alpine feature, also called Mount White ..."
36. Emilio Estevez, to Martin Sheen : SON
37. "Goosebumps" series author : R.L.STINE. More crosses- I've seen this name before, even commented on it in the blog and still couldn't remember it.
38. Court answer : PLEA
39. Twistable treat : OREO
40. Website help sect. : F.A.Q. Frequently Asked Questions. C.C. maintains the "Olio" section (link at the right of the blog) which comprises our FAQ collection.
41. Post-op area : ICU
44. Privileged groups : ELITES
46. Stand-up comic Boosler : ELAYNE. If you say so.
47. Breakfast choice : CEREAL. "Choice" is a stretch here. John Pinette agrees.
48. No-tell motel meetings : TRYSTS
50. Pulls hard : YANKS
51. Intimidating look : GLARE
52. Rubbernecks : GAWKS
56. Monty Python segment : SKIT
58. Vancouver setting: Abbr. : P.S.T. My side of the country, or it will be when I get back there in about four hours time. According the flight tracker, I'm somewhere north of Lake Erie close to the Canadian border at the moment, blogging happily with power and WiFi.
59. 30-day mo. : APR
60. Note from one who's short : IOU Nice cluing again for a short fill.
61. "The __": Uris novel : HAJ
62. "No, No, Nanette" foursome : ENS. Waving at the neighboring ELS. The golfer and the Navy get a cluing rest today. I like this one!
Some nice fill and cluing cheered me up after my "meh" theme-reaction, so fair play to David.
On a crossword note, if you've ever done a puzzle in an in-flight magazine, you'll realize what a quite fantastic job the constructors and editors of the NYT and LAT do (I'm not counting myself in that company). The quality is generally really shabby. The one I did in the United magazine yesterday had at least 10 entries that Rich would have thrown out without a pause. A few months ago I did one where the constructor had obviously reworked a section but forgot to update the clues to match the new answers - that was a challenge!
That's it from me!
Steve
17A. Ditty from 1970s-'80s NFL wide receiver Lynn? : SWANN SONG. Pittsburgh Steelers Hall-of-Famer.
25A. Unwinding places for actor Russell? : CROWE BARS. The blog "Waiter Rant" revealed that Mr. Crowe, when eating out, doesn't behave like a spoiled brat and tips well. Good to know.
38A. Tough spot for actor Walter? : PIDGEON HOLE. Apparently this is how an urban pigeon adapts to apartment living. Their country cousins may have more space.
49A. Easter adornment made by politician Dan? : QUAYLE EGG. Food! Three of these make a very small omelet.
61A. Facial feature of actor Ethan? : HAWKE EYES. Are they deep and dreamy? I have no idea.
Spot the odd one out in the theme entries - a swan has a song (in legend), a pigeon may perch in a hole, roughly 50% of the adult quail population has the capacity to lay eggs and a hawk certainly has eyes, apparently sharp ones. But a crow? I don't believe a crow has ever had bars. There's some other odd-ones-out too - CROWBAR is one word, the others are two, and QUAYLE needs a letter-change from the bird, the others don't. It feels inconsistent to me.
I confess to being a little underwhelmed with this one - you could play "Word Association" and get three or four of the names without thinking: Actor Russell? CROWE! Actor Ethan? HAWKE! Politico Dan? QUAYLE! You get the idea.
So let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Lead-ins to some online games : ADS. I don't play computer games, but I can't see the producers missing the opportunity to push some product before you get the chance to play.
4. Magnetic induction unit : TESLA. I didn't know this usage, but there's been enough of Nikola round recently that it wasn't a problem.
9. Nobelist Curie : MARIE. Husband Pierre also - he didn't fit. She beat him 2-1 in the Nobel Prize throwdown.
14. Petal plucker's word : NOT. Unloved, so sad.
15. Use at the table : EAT ON. Odd - I eat OFF plates and silverware, not on them.
16. Dunderhead : IDIOT
19. Replicate : CLONE
20. Fighting against : ANTI
21. Rarely seen item on casual Friday : TIE
22. Enjoy Whistler : SKI. Nice clue for this little word. Another mention of the artist at 58A.
23. Rule : REIGN
30. Sagittarius, e.g. : ARCHER
32. Sign of hope : RAY
33. See 8-Down : LEE.
34. Mass __ : TRANSIT. Had to wait for a few crosses before I could fill in this one.
37. Wander : ROVE
40. Computer menu heading : FILE
42. Hockey positions : WINGERS. Soccer too. Rugby also. Sports a-plenty.
43. Big club in Atlantic City? : ACE. Four suits to choose from. How about the Ace of Spades? [Rated BG13 (Blog Guidance) for Heavy Metal Content]
44. Neurologist's printout, briefly : E.E.G.
45. Find out about : DETECT
53. Gretzky, during most of the '80s : OILER. Edmonton hockey eh? The Great One.
54. Foreign __ : AID
55. __ Cruces : LAS. Wikipedia says this places is also known as "The City of The Crosses" which is kinda stating the obvious considering "Las Cruces" means "The Crosses".
57. Not : NARY
58. Emulate Whistler : PAINT. Here's his famous and pensive-looking mother. Maybe she's wondering when he's going to stop messing around with oils and look for a proper job.
63. Bike wheel feature : SPOKE
64. "Little Miss Sunshine" Oscar winner : ARKIN. Las Cruces got me most of the way here.
65. Rebellious Turner : NAT
66. Structural support : TRUSS
67. Kids around : JESTS
68. Some municipal trains : ELS
Down:
1. "Broken Arrow" co-star : ANSARA. No idea, so thank you, perps. The late actor Michael.
2. Wet blanket : DOWNER
3. Radio problem : STATIC. I wanted "Running low on Ne-Hi" first.
4. Notable Downing Street number : TEN. The British Prime Minister's residence. You used to be able to walk right up to the door and get your picture taken with the jolly policeman (unarmed, naturally) guarding the place. Times have changed.
5. "__ of Eden" : EAST. I came late to reading Steinbeck and this was my first. I couldn't believe how fresh it seemed.
6. Stiff-upper-lip type : STOIC
7. Hardly a social butterfly : LONER
8. With 33-Across, "Life of Pi" director : ANG. This name has finally sunk into my pea-brain. Nailed it!
9. Pluto's master : MICKEY
10. Improvise in a sketch : AD LIB
11. 2014 World Cup city : RIO. I timed my visit imperfectly last time down there - I arrived exactly a week after the final.
12. Charged particle : ION
13. Printemps follower : ÉTÉ. Summer follows Spring in France, just like here. I ate one of the most memorable meals of my life at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Raymond Blanc's Michelin-starred restaurant in .... England, oddly enough.
18. Lingerie purchase : NIGHTIE
22. Bundled up : SWATHED
24. Pi Day celebrant, stereotypically : NERD. March 14th.. It doesn't works in in the UK when you have the day before the month. This year was awesome - add the year and a specific time in the morning, and you got:
26. Circular gasket : O-RING. Infamously the culprit of the space shuttle Challenger explosion.
27. Soothing succulent : ALOE
28. Accelerate, with "up" : REV
29. Understand : SEE
31. Common allergen : RAGWEED. I tried RAGWORT first and needed a little unpicking in that area.
35. Mont Blanc covering : NEIGE. Not quite as much neige en été, plenty more en hiver. Thankfully Wiki refrains from informing us that "this alpine feature, also called Mount White ..."
36. Emilio Estevez, to Martin Sheen : SON
37. "Goosebumps" series author : R.L.STINE. More crosses- I've seen this name before, even commented on it in the blog and still couldn't remember it.
38. Court answer : PLEA
39. Twistable treat : OREO
40. Website help sect. : F.A.Q. Frequently Asked Questions. C.C. maintains the "Olio" section (link at the right of the blog) which comprises our FAQ collection.
41. Post-op area : ICU
44. Privileged groups : ELITES
46. Stand-up comic Boosler : ELAYNE. If you say so.
47. Breakfast choice : CEREAL. "Choice" is a stretch here. John Pinette agrees.
48. No-tell motel meetings : TRYSTS
50. Pulls hard : YANKS
51. Intimidating look : GLARE
52. Rubbernecks : GAWKS
56. Monty Python segment : SKIT
58. Vancouver setting: Abbr. : P.S.T. My side of the country, or it will be when I get back there in about four hours time. According the flight tracker, I'm somewhere north of Lake Erie close to the Canadian border at the moment, blogging happily with power and WiFi.
59. 30-day mo. : APR
60. Note from one who's short : IOU Nice cluing again for a short fill.
61. "The __": Uris novel : HAJ
62. "No, No, Nanette" foursome : ENS. Waving at the neighboring ELS. The golfer and the Navy get a cluing rest today. I like this one!
Some nice fill and cluing cheered me up after my "meh" theme-reaction, so fair play to David.
On a crossword note, if you've ever done a puzzle in an in-flight magazine, you'll realize what a quite fantastic job the constructors and editors of the NYT and LAT do (I'm not counting myself in that company). The quality is generally really shabby. The one I did in the United magazine yesterday had at least 10 entries that Rich would have thrown out without a pause. A few months ago I did one where the constructor had obviously reworked a section but forgot to update the clues to match the new answers - that was a challenge!
That's it from me!
Steve
